Mumbai: SP to go solo, to contest 115 seats in civic polls

The SP leaders said there would be no alliance either with the Congress or the Nationalist Congress Party.

While the civic elections are four months away, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday announced that it would contest the polls solo and would field candidates on 115 seats across the city.

The SP leaders said there would be no alliance either with the Congress or the Nationalist Congress Party. “We always ensured that the secular votes are not divided. But, in last Assembly elections, the Congress broke the alliance with us at the last moment. The Congress did not want our candidates to fill the nominations. So, we have decided to contest civic polls on our own without alliance,” said Abu Asim Azmi, legislator and state president of SP.

Azmi further said that the various meetings are being held to figure out the suitable candidates. “We have no threat from the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which plays an emotional card. The community will answer the people who plays emotional cards,” he said claiming that his party has been working for the development and to end the corruption in the civic body.

Rais Shaikh, SP corporator and group leader in BMC said the party would oppose the BMC’s action of demolishing the slum clusters higher than 14 feet. “The fire incidents are happening not just in the slums but also in the high rises. The entire city is vulnerable to such mishap. The civic body should not single out the slums only.

It clearly means that the BMC’s action is politically motivated ahead of polls,” said Shiakh demanding that the slum clusters with height of 20 feet should be regularised